With 2015 coming to a close, I find myself reflecting on the many events and accomplishments of this past year. Moving to San Mateo and becoming part of the Stanbridge community has been a wonderful experience, and I am delighted to list here some of the more notable achievements and events of the 2015-2016 school year:

We have welcomed more than 20 new families into the Stanbridge family.

As we embark on the new year, I am excited for the adventures that lie ahead. We are hoping to be granted preliminary membership in the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) in the next few weeks.

I hope you are all enjoying family time and some much deserved rest and relaxation during this break. I look forward to seeing you all on January 4th.

​On Thursday, members of the Stanbridge Academy STAR teams delivered canned food and dried goods to St. Anthony’s, a food pantry program in San Francisco.

“The canned food drive is an annual event,” said James Warren, a Stanbridge counselor and STAR team sponsor. “[St. Anthony’s] seems to have the most need and are all set up for a drop off like ours.”

Earlier this year, STAR team also created thank you cards for veterans and held a hygiene drive, where they asked members of the Stanbridge community to donate items such as Band-aids, shaving cream, baby wipes, and combs. They then delivered all of the items to Samaritan House in San Mateo.

There are two ways to join STAR team: recommendation from a teacher or staff member and self-nomination.

“Members of STAR team are usually asked if they would like to join based on a consistent history of positive behavior,” said James. “Some kids are chosen because membership can provide a social and self-esteem building experience that certain kids really need.”

If students nominate themselves, they are put on “prospect” status and given a mentor as a guide. If, after two weeks, their teachers and peers give a thumbs-up, they are inducted as a full member.

“I want to be on STAR team to help Stanbridge be a better place, and by extension make the world a better place,” said a prospective STAR team member in his speech to the current members.

He was approved moments later after a short discussion.

“He’s a good person and helps people,” said one of the current members of the applicant, “…definitely STAR team member material.”

After the break, STAR team will create cards for Police Appreciation Week. When the members deliver the cards, they will also get a full tour to the San Mateo Police Department central station.

“There’s a lot of commitment; you need to be willing to help at any time including recess,” said the Junior STAR Team President. “But it’s worth it!”

“I took a math class, a biology class, and a Japanese beginning language class,” said Laura. “I didn’t pursue a degree at that point, because I was just thinking about general studies, nothing more.”

In December 2010, she moved up to Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juan Islands off the northwestern corner of Washington State, and began her first foray into the food and beverage industry.

“I started working for the YMCA at a camp call Camp Orkila in the kitchen,” said Laura. “I also volunteered at the senior center two times a week helping prepare the seniors’ lunch.”

After she graduates with her AAS in culinary arts, Laura has been asked to be the kitchen manager and cooking teacher for The Concerto Project, a residential transition program for young adults on the autism spectrum.

“When I began to develop the idea of The Concerto Project, I asked Laura if she would like to be involved by helping me to design a commercial kitchen that could be utilized as a training environment for young adults with autism,” said Executive Director Marian O’Brien. “Laura's sketches of the commercial kitchen that she did for the launch of the program were detailed and included all the equipment that would be needed.”

After completing the sketches, Laura collected estimates for the costs of the equipment and materials. She then began creating a series of three cookbooks with recipes for the community lunches Marian envisions for The Concerto Project.

“Laura has so many of the traits that I seek in our staff at Concerto: detail-oriented, skillful, thoughtful, kind, open-minded, big-hearted and a great sense of humor,” said Marian. “I am really looking forward to her future involvement in The Concerto Project's program!”

Laura says she was drawn to the project not only because of her love for food but because she feels an affinity towards Concerto’s future residents as well

“I know what it is like to be in their shoes, and it can be a tough place to be,” said Laura. “I want to help provide at least a little bit of that much needed support.”

Although life-after-Stanbridge is no piece of cake, she says believing in yourself can be instrumental in achieving success.

“Don’t let the struggles and stresses break you,” Laura advises current Stanbridge students. “Be confident in yourself and what you can do.”

Stanbridge Academy Junior High students are collecting presents for Family Giving Tree, a charitable organization that provides toys and gifts for very low-income children.

“This has become a Stanbridge tradition,” said Stanbridge Parent Association (SPA) Family Giving Tree Chair Susan Kufer, who says this is the 10th year Stanbridge has participated. “The Junior High really enjoys being the group that gets the word out through poster making and puts up the tree each year.”

Junior High students assembled the tree on Monday, November 30th and trimmed it with ornaments from the charity.

“The kids’ parents don’t have enough money to get them gifts,” said a Stanbridge 8th grader. “The reason I wanted to donate is so that they can have a happy Christmas.”

There are three ways to donate to Family Giving Tree:1. Take an ornament from the tree, fulfill the wish, and return the gift (unwrapped!) with a new toothbrush to the tree.2. Take an envelop from the tree and mail in a donation directly to the Family Giving Tree.3. Make an online donation to the Family Giving Tree on their website.

“I love doing stuff like this,” said Lisa Ashley, mother of a Stanbridge 6th grader, as she chose an ornament from the tree. “I think Christmas should be about giving.”

All gifts must be dropped off at Stanbridge before noon on Friday, December 11th so that they can be loaded into cars and driven to the warehouse in Milpitas.

“The students flock to the tree each year and the ornaments are brought home in their backpacks,” said Susan. “Please keep an eye out for them!”

​Sophomores and seniors in Allison St. John’s high school English classes are adapting William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet for a modern audience.

“The assignment was to recreate the play Hamlet--to tell it in our own words, in our own way,” said one 10th grader.

Students began the unit by watching a film version of Hamlet and a live performance by the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. This was the third year the SF Shakespeare Festival came to Stanbridge Academy. Previously, actors staged As You Like It and Julius Caesar.

“Shakespeare was meant to be seen live,” said Allison. “He did not write his plays to be studied in a classroom; the best way to experience Shakespeare is through performance.”

Students then worked collaboratively to adapt the play to a new location and time period.

“The result is four distinct interpretations of Hamlet unique to each class,” said Allison.

Students in Allison’s second period class were the first to complete their film. Watch it here.

“We chose [to set the play in] World War II, because the actors are only men,” said one student in the class. “It would have been hard to put in [the characters] Ophelia and Gertrude, so we did letters.”

Faced with a $0 budget, students worked creatively to bring their scripts to life. Students in the WWII group brought in military-style helmets and jackets, borrowed prop guns from Maker Teacher David Hopper, and filmed in various locations around the Stanbridge campus.

“My jacket came from Vietnam, so we had to make due,” said one of the students. “The basement scene was fun: we made it look like a war bunker.”

Students said the multimodal approach to the play made learning Hamlet easier and more fun.

“I probably would not have understood the play as well if we had just read it and not done all the other stuff,” said a sophomore.

Stanbridge Academy is a caring, inclusive K-12 school for students with mild to moderate learning differences and social communication disorders. We use an individualized, whole student approach so that students thrive and develop their academic, social, and emotional capabilities to their fullest potential.